Barbara Schwarz, November 13, 2003

\-iARDY MYERS
ATIORNEY GENERAL
Ms. Barbara Schwarz
[No mailing address provided]
barbaraschwarz@myway.com
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
1162 Court Street NE
Justice Building
Salem, Oregon 97301-4096
Telephone: (503) 378-4400
ITY: (503) 378-5938
November 13, 2003
Re: Petition for Public Records Disclosure Order:
Oregon Department of Administrative Services
Dear Ms. Schwarz:
PETER D. SHEPHERD
DEPl!r{ ATIORNEY GENERAL
This letter is the Attorney General's order on your petition for disclosure of records under
the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to 192.505 .1 Your petition, which we received on
November 10, 2003,2 asks the Attorney General to direct the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services (DAS) to disclose records on Mark C. Rathbun, Mark de Rothschild, the
Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, President Eisenhower and you. For the reasons that
follow, we respectfully deny your petition.
The Public Records Law confers a right to inspect any public records of a public body in
Oregon, subject to certain exemptions and limitations. See ORS 192.420. Any person denied
the right to inspect or to receive a copy of a public record may petition the Attorney General to
determine whether the record may be withheld from inspection. ORS 192.450( 1 ). The Attorney
General may order a state agency to disclose records only when the agency has denied a request
for the records. Id. The Public Records Law pertains only to the disclosure of public records,
not the larger category of "information." This means that a public body, such as DAS, is not
required to create a public record. or to explain or answer questions about its public records.
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PUBLIC RECORDS AND MEETINGS MANUAL (2001) at 5.
1 In your petition you provided citations to federal cases that you describe as "leading law opinions" applicable to
your request. As a point of clarification, the disclosure ofa state agency's public records is governed by the Oregon
Public Records Law, not the federal Freedom of Information Act or other federal laws.
2 On Friday, November 7, 2003, you sent your petition via electronic mail to Ms. Collier McCoid at DAS and to
various Department of Justice addresses with a request to forward the petition to the Attorney General. Because
your petition was received by the appropriate officials for processing on Monday, November 10, 2003, we are
treating your petition as being received on that date.
Barbara Schwarz
November 13, 2003
Page 2
In your petition you state that Collier McCoid, Assistant to the DAS director, told you
that DAS had searched for the requested records, but provided you with no evidence of that
search, and informed you that you would need to pay approximately $2,000 for a more detailed
search. We spoke with Ms. McCoid about your petition and reviewed the electronic mail
messages by which you and Ms. McCoid communicated about your requests. Without
identifying every piece of correspondence, it is instructive to review the history of your requests
to DAS.
• Sept. 2, 2003: You made a request to DAS for records about the individuals and the subject
named above.
• Sept. 6, 2003: Prior to receiving a substantive response from DAS, you sent a request to Ms.
McCoid "to know if you, or anybody else within your agency were recently contacted"
by an attorney asking for copies of your correspondence with her.
•Sept. 9, 2003: Ms. McCoid asked that you narrow the scope of your original request due to the
costs that would be incurred in responding, given the breadth of the required search. In
that same correspondence, Ms. McCoid informed you that DAS had not been contacted
by any attorney requesting correspondence about you.
• Sept. 12, 2003: You wrote to Ms. McCoid asking that DAS search the records of the Director's
office, the "legal office" and the "corporate divisions" in response to your original
request for records about named individuals and asking that she tell you "what kinds of
records you maintain on the Church of Scientology and how many records
approximately" and the cost of copying. However you instructed that DAS incur no fees
in providing you with this information. Not acknowledging Ms. McCoid's September 9th
response, you again asked whether DAS had been contacted by an attorney asking for
records of its correspondence with you.
• Sept. 22, 2003: Ms. McCoid reiterated her request that you narrow your search due to the cost
that DAS would incur in searching for the requested records. Her correspondence also
explained that DAS does not maintain a "legal office" or a "corporate division." She
provided you with the DAS website for you to reference the services provided by the
agency.
• Oct. 3, 2002: Ms. McCoid responded to your request on behalf of DAS, informing you that a
"cursory search of recent electronic records" within identified databases maintained by
four named divisions did not identify any records on L. Ron Hubbard or the Church of
Scientology.
•Oct. 9, 2003: You wrote to Ms. McCoid asking who conducted the search and for evidence of
the search, and inquiring about your requests for records about the remaining named
individuals.
• Oct. 24, 2003: Ms. McCoid wrote to inform you that DAS had searched its "available
electronic databases" without charge and that to conduct a more thorough search would
cost approximately $2,000, and that DAS would require pre-payment of its estimated
costs.
• Oct. 25, 2003: You responded to receiving DAS' estimated costs with a renewed request for
information about the search DAS had conducted and a request for appeal information.
•Nov. 4, 2003: Ms. McCoid wrote to you reiterating the fact, originally stated in its September
9 response, that DAS had not been contacted by an attorney seeking copies of your
Barbara Schwarz
November 13, 2003
Page 3
correspondence. Her correspondence clarified that the search of DAS records that had
already been conducted was a search not only for records about L. Ron Hubbard and the
Church of Scientology but also for records about Mark Rathbun, Mark de Rothschild, L.
Ron Hubbard, and President Eisenhower,3 and she told you that the search was of
electronic records dating back approximately eight years contained in the division
databases identified in her October 3 correspondence. The November 4 correspondence
also clarified that the estimated cost of $2,000 was for searching "hard copy files and/or
archived and electronic records" for each of the categories of records that you requested.
•Nov. 7, 2003: As stated above, you sent your petition for a public records order in relation to
the records identified at the beginning of this petition to Ms. McCoid for forwarding to
the Attorney General.
From a review of the existing correspondence, we conclude that DAS has not denied your
records request. Ms. McCoid informed you that the agency had done a cursory search of its
easily accessible electronic records without charge, and told you that the search identified no
records responsive to your request. In response to your request that DAS provide you with
"evidence" of its search, Ms. McCoid identified the databases that were searched. As noted
above, the Public Records Law does not confer a right upon persons to request disclosure of
information, as opposed to public records. Ms. McCoid has also provided you with DAS'
estimated cost of conducting a more thorough search of its records. A state agency has the
authority to establish fees ""reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making
[requested] records available." ORS 192.440(3). Ms. McCoid has told us that the estimated cost
of $2,000 relates almost wholly to the time needed to search for the requested records. Requiring
pre-payment of estimated costs does not constitute a denial of a records request.
Because DAS has not denied your request, we deny your petition.4
AGSl3192
c: Collier McCoid, DAS Director's Office
Sincerely,
/4;_~Jr,/. L .4
PETER D. SHEPHERD //-77.
Deputy Attorney General -
3 Although not stated in the November 4 correspondence, we have confirmed with Ms. McCoid that the identified
databases were also searched for records pertaining to you.
• In your petition, you ask to be informed about "the status of any pending request for records or administrative" in
the office of the Attorney General. Kevin Neely, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, has responded to the
request that you made for Department of Justice records, so we do not have a request pending.

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\-iARDY MYERS
ATIORNEY GENERAL
Ms. Barbara Schwarz
[No mailing address provided]
barbaraschwarz@myway.com
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
1162 Court Street NE
Justice Building
Salem, Oregon 97301-4096
Telephone: (503) 378-4400
ITY: (503) 378-5938
November 13, 2003
Re: Petition for Public Records Disclosure Order:
Oregon Department of Administrative Services
Dear Ms. Schwarz:
PETER D. SHEPHERD
DEPl!r{ ATIORNEY GENERAL
This letter is the Attorney General's order on your petition for disclosure of records under
the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to 192.505 .1 Your petition, which we received on
November 10, 2003,2 asks the Attorney General to direct the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services (DAS) to disclose records on Mark C. Rathbun, Mark de Rothschild, the
Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, President Eisenhower and you. For the reasons that
follow, we respectfully deny your petition.
The Public Records Law confers a right to inspect any public records of a public body in
Oregon, subject to certain exemptions and limitations. See ORS 192.420. Any person denied
the right to inspect or to receive a copy of a public record may petition the Attorney General to
determine whether the record may be withheld from inspection. ORS 192.450( 1 ). The Attorney
General may order a state agency to disclose records only when the agency has denied a request
for the records. Id. The Public Records Law pertains only to the disclosure of public records,
not the larger category of "information." This means that a public body, such as DAS, is not
required to create a public record. or to explain or answer questions about its public records.
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PUBLIC RECORDS AND MEETINGS MANUAL (2001) at 5.
1 In your petition you provided citations to federal cases that you describe as "leading law opinions" applicable to
your request. As a point of clarification, the disclosure ofa state agency's public records is governed by the Oregon
Public Records Law, not the federal Freedom of Information Act or other federal laws.
2 On Friday, November 7, 2003, you sent your petition via electronic mail to Ms. Collier McCoid at DAS and to
various Department of Justice addresses with a request to forward the petition to the Attorney General. Because
your petition was received by the appropriate officials for processing on Monday, November 10, 2003, we are
treating your petition as being received on that date.
Barbara Schwarz
November 13, 2003
Page 2
In your petition you state that Collier McCoid, Assistant to the DAS director, told you
that DAS had searched for the requested records, but provided you with no evidence of that
search, and informed you that you would need to pay approximately $2,000 for a more detailed
search. We spoke with Ms. McCoid about your petition and reviewed the electronic mail
messages by which you and Ms. McCoid communicated about your requests. Without
identifying every piece of correspondence, it is instructive to review the history of your requests
to DAS.
• Sept. 2, 2003: You made a request to DAS for records about the individuals and the subject
named above.
• Sept. 6, 2003: Prior to receiving a substantive response from DAS, you sent a request to Ms.
McCoid "to know if you, or anybody else within your agency were recently contacted"
by an attorney asking for copies of your correspondence with her.
•Sept. 9, 2003: Ms. McCoid asked that you narrow the scope of your original request due to the
costs that would be incurred in responding, given the breadth of the required search. In
that same correspondence, Ms. McCoid informed you that DAS had not been contacted
by any attorney requesting correspondence about you.
• Sept. 12, 2003: You wrote to Ms. McCoid asking that DAS search the records of the Director's
office, the "legal office" and the "corporate divisions" in response to your original
request for records about named individuals and asking that she tell you "what kinds of
records you maintain on the Church of Scientology and how many records
approximately" and the cost of copying. However you instructed that DAS incur no fees
in providing you with this information. Not acknowledging Ms. McCoid's September 9th
response, you again asked whether DAS had been contacted by an attorney asking for
records of its correspondence with you.
• Sept. 22, 2003: Ms. McCoid reiterated her request that you narrow your search due to the cost
that DAS would incur in searching for the requested records. Her correspondence also
explained that DAS does not maintain a "legal office" or a "corporate division." She
provided you with the DAS website for you to reference the services provided by the
agency.
• Oct. 3, 2002: Ms. McCoid responded to your request on behalf of DAS, informing you that a
"cursory search of recent electronic records" within identified databases maintained by
four named divisions did not identify any records on L. Ron Hubbard or the Church of
Scientology.
•Oct. 9, 2003: You wrote to Ms. McCoid asking who conducted the search and for evidence of
the search, and inquiring about your requests for records about the remaining named
individuals.
• Oct. 24, 2003: Ms. McCoid wrote to inform you that DAS had searched its "available
electronic databases" without charge and that to conduct a more thorough search would
cost approximately $2,000, and that DAS would require pre-payment of its estimated
costs.
• Oct. 25, 2003: You responded to receiving DAS' estimated costs with a renewed request for
information about the search DAS had conducted and a request for appeal information.
•Nov. 4, 2003: Ms. McCoid wrote to you reiterating the fact, originally stated in its September
9 response, that DAS had not been contacted by an attorney seeking copies of your
Barbara Schwarz
November 13, 2003
Page 3
correspondence. Her correspondence clarified that the search of DAS records that had
already been conducted was a search not only for records about L. Ron Hubbard and the
Church of Scientology but also for records about Mark Rathbun, Mark de Rothschild, L.
Ron Hubbard, and President Eisenhower,3 and she told you that the search was of
electronic records dating back approximately eight years contained in the division
databases identified in her October 3 correspondence. The November 4 correspondence
also clarified that the estimated cost of $2,000 was for searching "hard copy files and/or
archived and electronic records" for each of the categories of records that you requested.
•Nov. 7, 2003: As stated above, you sent your petition for a public records order in relation to
the records identified at the beginning of this petition to Ms. McCoid for forwarding to
the Attorney General.
From a review of the existing correspondence, we conclude that DAS has not denied your
records request. Ms. McCoid informed you that the agency had done a cursory search of its
easily accessible electronic records without charge, and told you that the search identified no
records responsive to your request. In response to your request that DAS provide you with
"evidence" of its search, Ms. McCoid identified the databases that were searched. As noted
above, the Public Records Law does not confer a right upon persons to request disclosure of
information, as opposed to public records. Ms. McCoid has also provided you with DAS'
estimated cost of conducting a more thorough search of its records. A state agency has the
authority to establish fees ""reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making
[requested] records available." ORS 192.440(3). Ms. McCoid has told us that the estimated cost
of $2,000 relates almost wholly to the time needed to search for the requested records. Requiring
pre-payment of estimated costs does not constitute a denial of a records request.
Because DAS has not denied your request, we deny your petition.4
AGSl3192
c: Collier McCoid, DAS Director's Office
Sincerely,
/4;_~Jr,/. L .4
PETER D. SHEPHERD //-77.
Deputy Attorney General -
3 Although not stated in the November 4 correspondence, we have confirmed with Ms. McCoid that the identified
databases were also searched for records pertaining to you.
• In your petition, you ask to be informed about "the status of any pending request for records or administrative" in
the office of the Attorney General. Kevin Neely, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, has responded to the
request that you made for Department of Justice records, so we do not have a request pending.